Crate for bottles and like containers



March l1, 1952 R. J. cRoss 2,588,805

CRATE FOR BOTTLES AND LIKE CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 29, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l Il f" March 11, 1952 R. J. cRoss CRATE FOR BOTTLES AND LIKE CONTAINERS 3 Sheets-Shea# 2 Filed Feb. 29, 1948 INI/FN T0@ E 6.055 @a am @f [0m H rTS March l1, 1952 R. J. cRoss CRATE FOR BOTTLES AND LIKE CONTAINERS 3 Shgets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 29. 1948 Patented Mar. 1l, 1952 2,588,805 CRATE FGR'BOT'TLES AND -'LIKE CONTAINERS lReginald Jack Gross, Gravesend, England, as-

signer of lone-lum to .Essex ,Aero Limited,

(,ravesenl England Application February 29, 1948, Serial No. k12,181

" `In Great :Britain December ,5, 1947 The invention hasreierence to .crates for bottles and like containers, for example such as are described in the specification of my copending United States application Serial No. 725,099, now a-bandoned, the object of the invention being to provide -additional means for `.preventing .noise due to the vibration of the bottles in vthecrates or arising from `theimpact of bottles dropped into the same.

In a crate according to the invention the licor upon which the bottles rest is perforated at the centre of each bottle-receiving compartment, and a member of a suitable resilient material is secured in the edge of each such perforation, in such fashion that the face of such member projects above the upper surface of the floor to constitute a resilient buffer or seat upon which a bottle may rest.

While the resilient members could be made solid, they. are conveniently annular and in most cases the perforations in the floor-plate will be circular.

The resilient annulae are conveniently made of indiarubber,' synthetic rubber, felt, leather or other material having appropriate shock-absorbing or vibration-damping qualities. Indiarubber or synthetic rubber are thought to be most suitable for this purpose, owing to their durability and capability of withstanding repeated shocks and severe wear conditions, apart from the ease with which they may be cleansed from adhering dirt by dipping in water or sluicing with a hose.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in and hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a plan of a crate (empty) and Fig. 2 a vertical section taken on the line II-II of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2, of a modified form of crate, taken in section along the line III-III of Fig. 4, which is an end elevation.

The construction of the crate is generally similar to that which forms the subject of United States application Serial No. 725,099. It comprises a floor-plate Ill, which is flanged along its rectangular borders to constitute a frame II to which the corner-members I2, I2 and the uted side-members I3, I3 are riveted at their lower extremities. The upper ends of the members I2 and I3 are riveted to an upper frame I4 of the same shape as, but slightly longer `than, the frame II. The -upper frame I4 is bridged centrally by a square-section member I5; this member I5 and the end-parts of the frame I4 are shaped at I6 so as to form handles.

The crate is subdivided into a number of (CLZZOTZI) 2 bottle-receiving `compartments by an apertured plate Il', lmounted parallel .to .the .hoor-plate ,Ill at or about half `the .depth of the fcrate andriveted along ,its marginal flange I.'l'I to the members ,l2 and I3. At ,each aperture I8 of the plate Ilthe metal is swaged downwardly to form alip I BI.

At each position on :the floor-plate Ill lies axially beneath an aperture 1.8.9 the ligerplate is dished to form an upwardly extending frusta-conical boss IUI which, where the bottles have a concave base as in the case of the bottle illustrated in Fig. 2, enters the concavity thereof and thereby serves to locate the bottle and restrain it from lateral movement in its compartment.

The frusto-conical bosses IUI are centrally perforated, at |92, and in each such perforation there is mounted a resilient annulus. This may consist of an indiarubber grommet I9 having on its external periphery a deep circumferential groove Il!! of a width substantially equal to the gauge of the base-plate Il). Such an annulus i9 may be pressed into position in the perforation I02, in such manner that the inwardly directed ange which surrounds the perforation H32, is received in the said peripheral groove of the grommet, in the manner shown in Fig. 2, whereby the latter is adequatelyv sustained in the desired position and held against dislodgment in normal conditions of use. The grommet I9 is of such thickness that the portion thereof whichV protrudes above the upper surface of the boss i0! is sufiiciently thick to raise a bottle completely out of contact with the base-plate.

Apart from the function of the grommets I9 in resiliently supporting the bottles and deadening noise, it is found that the natural stickiness of the indiarubber of which they are made afiords a further valuable advantage inasmuch as their consequent tendency to adhere slightly t0 glass assists in maintaining the bottles in place even when the crate is carried in an inclined position, using one of the end-parts of the frame I4 as a handle.

It will also be seen from Fig. 2 that the crates may be so designed to suit the particular bottles for Awhich they are intended to be used, that when two or more crates are stacked one upon the other, the tops of the bottles are resiliently contacted by the grommets I9 in the next upper crate, thus affording an additional preventive against lateral movement of the bottles in their compartments. In such an arrangement the bottles are in fact supported in a oating condition between upper and lower grommets, any

slight variation in the overall lengths of the bottles being allowed for vby the resilience of the grommets; it is accordingly possible, if desired, to effect a considerable reduction in the depth of the crate, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, with a consequent valuable economy in weight of the material employed in its construction, thereby reducing both the cost of the crate and the volurne occupied in transport in the empty state.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A bottle crate comprising a `framework of vertical and horizontal members, a, floor supported on said framework, and means dividing the interior of said crate into a plurality of compartments for individual bottles, said oor being formed to provide a general plane slightly narrower and shorter than said framework and slightly below the lower edges of said framework and adapted to project downwardly into the next lower crate when stacked, the floor being dished upwardly in each compartment, and a plurality of perforations in said floor, one centrally of each said compartment, and a resilient grommet in each said perforation, said grommet being fixedly secured to the inwardly directed edge of said perforation and extending above and below the said edge, the lower portion of said grommet ter- 4 minating within said dished portion, the height of said crate being substantially that of the buttles to be accommodated, whereby the tops of the bottles in a lower crate may engage the bottoms of the grommets of a higher crate when stacked.

REGINALD JACK CROSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,133,849 Gainor Mar. 30, 1915 1,156,219 Eggleston Oct. 12, 1915 1,238,662 Gregg Aug. 28, 1917 1,948,041 McGowan Feb. 20, 1934 2,063,390 Lindell Dec. 8, 1936 2,312,621 Bowman Mar. 2, 1943 2,329,656 Sedgwick Sept. 14, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,705 Great Britain Apr. 2, 1903 25,977 Switzerland Feb. 2, 1903 302,110 Italy Oct. 19, 1932 447,699 Great Britain May 25, 1936 632,816

France Oct. 17, 1927 

